Comeback
by HopeIsHere16
Summary: Even the greatest magician in the world is not invincible. After watching Daniel Atlas fall from fifty feet in the air during a performance, Henley Reeves thinks she finally understands that. Post-movie, Danley fluff.


Comeback

Disclaimer: I don't own Now You See Me!

Author's Note: Just saw the movie today, and it was truly one of the best things I've ever watched. At the end, my jaw was literally hitting the floor. The entire movie was like a magic trick! Of all the people I'd suspected that entire time...yeesh. Anyhow, since I did just see it once, I apologize if any facts are incorrect. Keeping that in mind, I hope you enjoy this story and don't forget to review! This is a Henley/Daniel fluffy fic {even if it does seem incredibly sad at first. Oh, I guess I should probably warn about that - even though this is a spoiler for the fic, there is an initial character death that occurs. So if you're easily upset, in a bad place right now, etc., proceed with caution, please. Though I'm too much of a fan of happy endings to make the _whole_ thing super depressing} :)

* * *

_Comeback_

The day you buy your ticket to see the Four Horsemen is one of the happiest in your life. You've always been a fan of magic shows, and Henley, Daniel, Merritt, and Jack were once the four most famous magicians in the world. You've kept up with their fame since the beginning, and you feel almost as though you know them personally. Your grin stretches from one ear to the other as you excitedly tell your friends that you can't go to the movies the following week.

"I've got tickets!" you cry happily. "I've got tickets to see the Four Horsemen! Yes, _those_ magicians!"

You don't mind that they call you a nerd - your spirits are too high to be crushed by anything.

You spend more than an hour picking out what you're going to wear to the show. You want to look absolutely perfect, in case you are called upon to go up onstage as a volunteer. You finally settle on an outfit, and on the day of the performance, you spend far too much time on your hair and makeup. Part of you is hoping that your seat number will be shouted, echoing throughout the theater, and the other part of you is hoping to run into Daniel Atlas outside the stage door. You've always been his biggest fan, and just to meet him would be a dream come true.

At seven o'clock you leave your apartment and take a cab to the venue. You give your ticket to the man in charge, who chuckles slightly at your obvious enthusiasm. An usher calmly shows you to your seat, which has a much better view than you had originally thought, and you bounce up and down as more and more people show up. You watch janitors and stage hands prepping the auditorium for what will surely be the greatest show ever put on. When the lights dim, and the booming voice above you reminds you not to smoke or leave your seat, your heart is racing. This is it! What you've been waiting for!

You recognize Henley's voice as it reaches every ear in the audience, because she is the only woman in the group. She says, "Welcome, one and all! Welcome to this evening's performance!"

Daniel comes next. He says, "We invite you to film and record all you want. Tweet, post, blog...heck, call your friends during the show. Look in as closely as you want."

"Because the more you think you see," Merritt continues.

"The easier it will be to fool you!" finishes Jack.

The magicians make their presence on the stage known with shining spotlights, and the room bursts into thunderous applause. The entertainment hasn't even started yet, and your hands are already numb from all the clapping. You cannot believe you are finally getting to watch your heroes! Your inspirations! They're standing there, right before your very eyes!

The show begins with simple stunts, easy things that you have mastered. The people in the audience who are naïve and new to the ways of magic are easily impressed. You are impressed as well, but these little parlor tricks are not what you have travelled to see. You're looking forward to the stunts that you have spent _hours_ trying to figure out. The things that make you believe that magic really _is _real, and no foolery is required.

You are not let down. The Mentalist begins a seminar of mass hypnosis, and you are completely transfixed. Mentalism is probably the most amazing thing in the universe to you, and you study every move Merritt makes. Maybe you'll be able to figure out his method, and master the art yourself. But all he does is whisper simple commands to the audience members who volunteered to have their minds studied, and that doesn't give you any kind of hint. Slightly disappointed, all you can do is watch with envy as grown men and women begin to cluck like chickens and sing like prima donnas with only a word beckoning them to do so.

Henley is the next to perform. Her acrobatics are absolutely amazing, and the way she works together with the other Horsemen is commendable. She is almost as grand as Houdini when it comes to her disappearing acts, and she makes it from a box in center stage to the rafters in less than three seconds. It's visually stunning, and you enjoy watching her. It appears that Daniel does, too. You've always been a supporter of the Daniel/Henley relationship (the tabloids have been all over it for years) and you're glad to see that things are going well. Perhaps the engagement won't fall through a third time.

When Jack Wilder begins the largest card trick you have _ever _seen, you can't help but wish he would call on you to help him. Three other women in the audience are called down, and you are more jealous of them than you're willing to admit. But you sit back and relax, knowing that there are more events to come. The night is not yet over, and you might be chosen at some point. You won't let disappointment ruin your evening of magic and miracles. To see the master of mimicry at work fooling people is a true treat in and of itself.

When Daniel takes his turn, you can hardly contain yourself. He has always been your favorite, and to see him in person gives you the greatest pleasure you have ever known. Those shining eyes, that confident smile...it's no wonder Henley loves him so much.

"For our final trick of the evening," Daniel announces. "We'll need one volunteer from the audience. Any takers?"

At least one thousand hands raise into the air, and everyone shouts, "Me! Me!" You quietly raise your fingers above you with all the confidence of someone who has already failed. The Four Horsemen pretend to look through the crowd, and then Henley asks, "Who is sitting in...Section G...Row 8...Seat 4?"

It takes you a moment to realize that Henley has called _your_ seat. You double-check, and then triple-check to make sure you are not dreaming. A grin lighting up your face, your body shoots into the air and you scream, "Me! That's me!"

"Okay, 'me'," laughs Daniel sarcastically, waving you down. "Come on down."

You race down the flights of steps necessary to reach the stage, stumbling twice in your haste. The Horsemen wait patiently, and welcome you with kind eyes when you see them. You are just barely keeping yourself from hyperventilating. This does not go unnoticed by Merritt, who laughs at you in good spirits. You cannot stop smiling.

"What do I have to do?" you ask quietly, directing your question at Henley. She makes you feel the most comfortable, because she has the gentlest face.

"It's easy," she tells you happily. "All you have to do, my dear, is watch."

"Watch what?" you ask with keen interest. Daniel chuckles, and your attention is on him immediately. By the glittering ring on Henley's left hand you _know_ he is taken, and you wouldn't dream of trying to steal him away from her, but he still makes your heart pound.

"Watch _me_." he states arrogantly. "Which shouldn't be too difficult."

"What am I watching you do, exactly?" you ask. The stage lights are blinding you, and you wonder how you will be able to see anything.

"You're mostly here for verification purposes." states Merritt. "The last time he performed this trick, the audience was _sure _they had it figured out. They were wrong, of course, but we couldn't convince them of that. _You're _here to tell your fellow citizens out there exactly what you see and why their guesses are wrong. Got it?"

"Of course," Jack puts in. "If you _do _think you know how he did it, tell us by all means." he laughs slightly to himself. "It's not likely, but still."

"Okay." you smile. "Sounds easy." It's not very exciting, but it's still a nice front-row seat for the finale.

"Now!" here, Daniel addresses the audience. "In front of me is nothing but air. See?" the audience reacts positively. "What would you say if I told you that I was going to walk up the staircase right in front of me?"

"There isn't one!" a boy cries out from one of the balcony seats. There is a small bout of laughter. Daniel Atlas himself chuckles.

"No, doesn't look like it, huh?" he asks in a disappointed tone. He continues to speak to the crowd before him. "I guess I just didn't think this trick through. I mean, how do you climb something that doesn't exist, right?" as he speaks, he begins to ascend an invisible staircase, or at least it looks like it. He walks right over the audience members' heads, and rises higher and higher. Gasps of awe are able to be ascertained from all around, and before you know it, Daniel is in the center of the auditorium fifty feet in the air. As if to prove he is _not _simply attached to ropes or wires, Daniel begins to move to his left until he is hovering over one of the aisles. He even jumps up and down sporadically. He begins to say something else -

When everything goes wrong.

All of Daniel's muscles lock up, and without even a scream, he falls to the ground. A sickening crack is able to be heard as his bones make contact with the hard floor. You are unable to see anything but the grotesque shape of his body, but that is enough. Some of the audience members chuckle, thinking that this is all part of the illusion. And you would probably think that too, if it wasn't for the look on Henley's face. Her green eyes are filled to the brim with tears, and her mouth is wide open in shock. This is no artifice. You have just watched J. Daniel Atlas, your hero for nearly five years, die right in front of you.

* * *

_Henley_

The parlor did a lovely job.

The room smells of nothing but perfume and hand sanitizer, and the strongly opposing odors make Henley's nose sting. Her tired, swollen eyes blink rapidly at the crowd before her. She's trying not to start crying again. Everyone there has ceased their tears and are waiting for her to speak. She feels a lump forming in her throat as she stands in front of the microphone. She dares not look to her left - if she sees the casket again she won't be able to contain herself. His absence is a giant hole in her heart, and she doesn't know how to deal with it.

"You know," she begins quietly, her voice unsteady. "A couple of months ago, after my aunt died, Dan-Daniel and I had a talk about...about death." Henley closes her eyes for a moment, draws strength from an unknown source, and continues the eulogy without taking a single pause. Tears cascade down her pale, ashen cheeks as she speaks, but she doesn't falter.

"We were kidding around, of course, but we were still talking about it. And he told me that if he ever died young, he wanted a very public funeral. He wanted the press to come, and he wanted all of his fans to be there. He wanted every single person who bore witness to his death to bear witness to his burial - he didn't know how he was going to die, but he had a feeling it would be an accident. See, as magicians, we know that some of the things we do are dangerous. But I..._he_ never thought he would fail. To me, he always seemed invincible.

"It was naïve to think that, and I know that now. But anyways, he told me everything that he wanted for his service. And what you see now is a visual representation of his description - everything is perfect, right down to the spotlights shining down on his...er, solid-gold coffin. It was what he wanted, and I couldn't deny him his wishes. Even in death, he's still pulling the strings.

"There is only one thing here that is not right. He didn't want _me _to be the one to speak. He told me that he had someone very special in mind to address the mourners, and that when the time came, he would tell me who that was. I never pressed it because I never thought...I mean, how can you _guess _when someone is going to die? I was j-just standing on stage...everything was normal...and then the next thing I knew I was surrounded by police and doctors and the press asking for comments on losing my fiancé.

"If you want to know the truth, it still doesn't feel real. As a lot of you know, Daniel and I...we had our ups and downs. But I would spend every day for the rest of my life _fighting_ with him if he was just _here_. If he was alive, I would hate him to my core if I had to. I would do _anything _to have him back. It was easy to argue with him sometimes - he was always so arrogant and cocky and full of himself. But there was a side of him...a side that not a lot of people ever got to see. I was one of the lucky ones, I guess. That side of him...God, how do I _describe_ it?

"He was sweet. He was thoughtful and considerate and perfect. And I know that sounds corny, but it's the truth. The Daniel Atlas that _I _knew is different from the Daniel Atlas that each and every one of _you _knew. My - "

Henley's emotionally charged speech is interrupted here by torrents of smoke. At first people think there is a fire, and begin to panic. But when the first person runs to the doors to thrust them open and check, she finds them locked. The smoke is becoming heavier, and people can no longer see. Yelling begins to ensue, and no one is quite sure what to do or what is going on. And then, as quickly as the confusion and panic begins, it ends. The smoke clears, and people return to their seats with question marks on their faces. Then, someone yells:

"The coffin!"

Indeed, the coffin has been opened. In the time when no one could see, someone was able to unlatch and open the coffin. But that is not all - it is empty. No body lies inside of it.

"Good evening, everyone. Enjoying the service? Miss Reeves was doing a fine job, but I felt that...well, I felt that _I _could do a better job."

* * *

_Daniel_

It takes nearly four hours before Daniel and the other Horsemen can get back to their apartments on Walnut Street in the heart of New York, where they have finally been able to settle down. The news and press have an absolute field day with Daniel's little stunt. There isn't a paper in the nation that isn't talking about J. Daniel Atlas - the magician who came back from the dead.

What seems to be most impressive to people is the fact that Daniel kept up the charade for three days without telling a single soul. He is bombarded with a thousand questions left and right - how did you make the initial doctors think you were dead? How did you escape the morgue? How did you make it look like you weren't breathing? How did you manage _not_ to tell the other Horsemen - or at least Henley?

On the ride home, Daniel is feeling fairly good about himself. He has single-handedly managed to put the Horsemen back on the map. After they'd stopped handing out millions of dollars at their shows, their fame had decreased rapidly, and they'd become something of "old news". People would still buy tickets to see them, but it was mostly just to say _they saw the Four Horsemen live!_ Daniel had known for some time that Merritt and Jack were beginning to think of ditching, and he _couldn't_ let that happen. Then they would be back where they had started...just four street performers with nowhere to go. And after tasting the glory and fame of being on stages all over the world, he wasn't prepared to go back to bribing hotel electricians to make his magic look real. Because now he _did _possess real magic, and he felt that he should have some privileges.

Jack Wilder - who hasn't felt hero worship towards Daniel in years - is practically kissing his feet. There seems to be no one else more impressed with the comeback trick. Merritt - who hates Daniel passionately most of the time - admits that he'd felt a certain sadness at the thought of not being able to torment him anymore. Daniel had _expected _to receive a kiss from Henley, who would just be happy that he was okay. This is not the case _at all_.

She will not talk to him. When the press questions them, she asks to be spoken to separately. When Daniel interrupted the service, she left and locked herself in the bathroom. When he tries to say hello, she evades him. Even when she is stuck next to him in the car for half an hour, she pretends to sleep. Daniel is dumbfounded - why is she so angry? He isn't really dead!

They have finally reached their apartment. Daniel prepares a long tirade to ask Henley why she is so unhappy, but he never gets the chance to speak. The moment the door is unlocked, Henley bolts over the threshold and stomps into the bedroom. Daniel hears a small clicking sound as the key is turned, meaning she will not let him in. He sighs in annoyance - this isn't something that hasn't happened before. With an engagement that's been cancelled three times, he's used to being forced to sleep on the couch every now and then. But usually, he knows what he did wrong. Or...well, what he did to _upset_ her. This time, he is completely in the dark.

"Henley!" he calls out angrily. He's tired of being treated so poorly - after no human contact for three days, he's bursting to the seam with energy. All he wants is to talk to her, and she's trying to act like he really did die. "Hen, come _on_!"

She gives no answer. Daniel starts knocking on the door over and over again, but she won't open it. Finally, he just begins to talk loudly enough that she can hear.

"Henley, come on, _please_ open the door. I'm begging here - and if you ever tell anyone that I begged, I'll deny it. I haven't been able to talk to anyone for three days, and I really just want -"

"Whose damn fault is _that_? If you want the bedroom, take it, but don't you _dare_ come out."

Henley unlocks the door, shoves the key in Daniel's hand without making eye-contact, and goes into the living room. She situates herself on the couch with a book, and immediately looks down. Daniel has no chance of getting her to open up.

Knowing it's useless to try to choose _now_ to begin understanding women, Daniel hesitantly goes into the bedroom. It looks the same as it did the last time he saw it, just emptier. He closes the door behind him, and lies down on his and Henley's bed. He rolls over onto his side, trying to get comfortable. He pulls his favorite pillow over to him, and notices that it's covered in smeared mascara. It smells like Henley's shampoo, too.

And that's when the first pang of guilt hits Daniel, and for just a moment, he starts to understand why Henley is so horribly angry.

He gets up, and turns the light on. He notices his bottle of cologne on the dresser, and wonders if Henley used it so she could smell him. He thinks back on what he did, and the understanding hits him even harder. He feels like even more of an ass than usual, and swears under his breath. He knows what he has to do - something he would really only do in front of Henley Reeves. He leaves and follows silence to the living room, where Henley is still pretending to read.

"Hey." he says softly, but he knows she can hear. She ignores him anyway.

"I'm sorry." he admits, coming closer to his fiancée. He kneels down beside her, and tries to look as honest as he possibly can. With a name like J. Daniel Atlas, honesty is something he isn't used to.

"Yeah, well, you should be." Henley grumbles, not looking up. Daniel sighs heavily.

"I should have told you." he states simply. "But I mean - Henley, your _reaction_! It's what made it all believable - it's what kept people from looking too closely."

"I was your distraction. Wouldn't be the first time." she whispers, trying to blink away the tears that are beginning to form. She's cried too much over Danny over the past few days, and she will _not_ let him see her when she's so weak.

"You know that's not what I meant, and you know I'm right." says Daniel arrogantly, sounding more like he normally does in public. The tone is just enough to set Henley off, and she finally looks up and makes eye contact. Daniel is at a loss for words when he sees how bloodshot and broken Henley's eyes are. Her voice is loud enough that most of their neighbors can probably hear her.

"I am not _taking_ that crap, Danny!" she screams. "You let me think you were _dead_! It wasn't some five-minute parlor trick that I've seen and known about for months! You didn't tell me, I blamed myself, I cried myself to sleep! You're the love of my life, and our wedding is in a _month_, and I was just getting ready to spend the rest of my life with you! And then you make me th-think that I'm losing everything! _You_ did that, Danny! _You_!"

Daniel knows that he has screwed up _big _time. Henley breaks down sobbing, which is something Daniel has honestly only seen her do one other time, and he isn't sure what he should be doing. He finally settles on sitting next to her on the couch and gathering her into his arms. He tries to soothe her, but he doesn't know if it's working. Henley is usually so strong and sure of herself. Daniel doesn't know how to be her rock because she's never needed one. He whispers incredulously, "I really messed you up, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Henley manages. The crying has mostly subsided, but she's breathing heavily. Daniel feels horrible.

"I didn't mean to." he says, sounding like a small child. The tone is just enough to make Henley smile - just a little.

"You never think about what you're doing, Danny. That's why you always make mistakes."

"I know."

"What you did was wrong, and it hurt me."

"I'm sorry."

"The _real_ magic is being able to know when something is too much."

"No," Daniel disagrees, pressing himself more tightly against Henley. He thinks for a moment about how he would be feeling if Henley had done what he did, and the pain is unimaginable. He tries to keep his tone light as he continues. "_Real_ magic is being able to slow your momentum before you hit the ground. _Real_ magic is being able to manipulate the blood to come out of your body. _Real_ magic is being able to stop your own heart from beating, but living to tell the tale."

Henley gasps, and tries to hide her surprise. She doesn't comment on the fact that Danny has just told her a trade secret. He never tells _anyone_ - even the other Horsemen - how he does his solo tricks. She doesn't want to scare him away from telling her more, so she settles on a sarcastic retort.

"Smart ass."

Danny laughs a little, and hugs her. "Sue me."

And they live happily ever after.

* * *

**ATLAS AND REEVES SAY, "I DO"**

**READ FULL STORY INSIDE**


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